{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364361", "<span class=\"kicker\">Asbury Park Press page one</span>'Child abduction bill passes House with no opposition'", "2013-12-14", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Written by Malia Rulon Herman, Gannett News Service -- \r\nThe House voted unanimously on Wednesday to pass legislation from Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey that aims to crack down on countries that harbor children abducted by a parent.\r\nThe bill was named for David Goldman of Tinton Falls, whose five-year fight to get his son back from Brazil drew international attention. Goldman\u2019s son Sean was returned to him on Christmas Eve almost exactly four years ago. \u201cToday, we have hope,\u201d Goldman told reporters shortly before the vote. \u201cOur abducted American children need to be returned.\u201d\r\nSmith\u2019s bill passed 398-0, an impressive show of bipartisan support that Smith says should help the bill attract support in the Senate.\r\nThe bill would give the U.S. government authority to pursue sanctions \u2014 from a public rebuke to trade and credit suspensions \u2014 on countries that refuse to turn over abducted children.\r\nUnder the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, parents are barred from fleeing to another country with their children until a court determines custody. Some 81 countries are signatories, but the treaty is rarely enforced.\r\nSmith, a Republican, said he hopes his legislation creates a system in which countries are held accountable for failing to comply with court orders to return abducted children.\r\nHe was joined by Goldman and six other families who are struggling to get their children back from other countries. In an hour-long news conference that evoked tears from several present, the parents took turns telling their stories.\r\nBindu Philips of Plainsboro, N.J., said she was never apart from her children for more than a day until five years ago, when her ex-husband took them to India and blocked all efforts to have them returned.\r\n\u201cI have done everything I can in this nightmarish situation, and I will never give up,\u201d she said..\r\nBarton Hermer of Plano, Texas, told of struggling to get his daughter back from her mother, who fled with her to the United Kingdom.\r\n\u201cI plead to you, to the media, to the government, please stand behind us,\u201d he said, choking back tears. \u201cThese are our most precious citizens and they need to be brought home immediately.\u201d Goldman\u2019s son, Sean, remains the only U.S. child to be returned under the Hague treaty. He was 9 when he came home in 2009 and is now 13. \r\nAfter taking Sean, who was then 4, to Brazil, Goldman\u2019s wife remarried, then died in childbirth. Her death sparked an international custody battle that ended with Sean\u2019s emotional return to the U.S..\r\nGoldman has remarried and is raising Sean along with his wife\u2019s two young sons. He described Sean as a well-adjusted, 5-foot-10-inch eighth grader who loves to play basketball and go fishing, and has an incredibly messy room.\r\n\u201cHe made the basketball travel team and also the school team,\u201d Goldman gushed, flipping through photos of Sean on his phone before flashing one of Sean holding a fish he caught on a recent deep-sea fishing trip.\r\nGoldman said their years apart couldn\u2019t break the bond between him and his son, but there are lingering effects. He said he\u2019s still in debt after years of legal battles. He described Sean as \u201cwise beyond his years.\u201d\r\n\u201cHe knows what happened,\u201d Goldman said. \u201cWe talk about it.\u201d\r\nAs Christmas Eve approaches, the fourth anniversary of Sean\u2019s return, Goldman said he\u2019s reminded of how lucky he is.\r\nOriginally Dec. 12, 2013 published at:\u00a0  \r\n\u00a0  \r\n\u00a0http://www.app.com/article/C0/20131212/NJNEWS10/312120012/Child-abduction-bill-passes-House-no-opposition?nclick_check=1", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364361"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7755099795758724, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}